Frank Roddy

I began playing guitar in 1975 and took lessons for several years. In 2001, I began taking saxophone lessons and I studied under Dennis Taylor in Nashville for more than 8 years. Through all of the collective years of playing and taking lessons, there was one thing I thought would help students and players at any skill level. We are always told to "practice your scales" or "practice thirds" or "practice arpeggios." But then, each day when we pick up our instrument, we warm up with the same exercises rather than trying something new. In 2010, I co-founded an afrobeat band called ATOMGA. I had never played afrobeat before so I immediately began charting exercises which would help me improve my ability to play in this genre. A short time later, I realized I already had a few hundred exercises across all twelve keys. This is when I got the idea to compile these exercises and share them with other musicians and the 144 Day Practice Challenge was born.